In a quest for a world with an environment comparable to Mars or even the icy moons of Europa and Enceladus, Canadian scientists have discovered unexpected forms of life.
According to Science Alert, this remarkable search for life took place at the “Death Spring” Lost Hammer in the Arctic, a region in Canada known as one of the harshest places on Earth, previously thought to be devoid of any life.
At the Lost Hammer spring, water emerges from deep beneath the permafrost, with nearly no oxygen (less than one part per million of dissolved oxygen), a salinity of about 24%, and temperatures around -5 degrees Celsius.
Scientists digging research holes at Lost Hammer spring – (Photo: Mark Fox-Powell)
This environment is extremely inhospitable, or even more deadly when compared to the subterranean waters where scientists have previously found signs of life on Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, or Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Evidence suggests that extremely cold and salty oceans may lie hidden beneath the icy crust of Europa and Enceladus. Mars might also harbor salty liquid lakes locked beneath its surface. These environments could be highly alkaline. Since salt lowers the freezing point of water, temperatures are likely to be well below zero, and they are probably extremely low in oxygen.
However, in the “replica” of Mars’ lakes – the Lost Hammer spring – a team of scientists led by microbiologist Elisse Magnuson from McGill University in Canada discovered… swarms of extremophilic microorganisms, life forms that thrive without the need for respiration, remaining robust despite being submerged in concentrated saltwater and trapped beneath a frigid “tomb” of ice.
“It took us several years working with the sediment layers before we could successfully detect active microbial communities,” Dr. Magnuson stated.
She added, “The salinity of the environment interferes with both the extraction and sequencing processes of the microorganisms, so finding evidence of active microbial communities was a very satisfying experience.”
The next step is to broadly describe the characteristics of the microbial community. The research team sequenced fragments of genetic material found in the samples to classify them. Most of these organisms are unique, with lineages never seen anywhere else on Earth.
They do not rely on organic matter or oxygen to survive, but rather exist by consuming and metabolizing simple inorganic compounds like methane, sulfide, sulfate, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. These compounds are abundant on Mars, suggesting that similar forms of life could thrive on the Red Planet.
This type of metabolism is known as chemolithoautotrophy and is only found in microorganisms that inhabit extreme environments.
The team plans to cultivate and study some of the most active members of the microbial community to further understand how they adapt and thrive in extreme conditions.
This research has just been published in The ISME Journal.
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